


Esme vs The Archon

by kassandra_divina_trevelyan



Series: The Andromeda Rewrites [8]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Post Mission Cuddles, Reyes is protective af, SPOILERS AHEAD, Temporary Character Death, a brush with death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:06:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kassandra_divina_trevelyan/pseuds/kassandra_divina_trevelyan
Summary: When a mission goes horribly wrong and Reyes witnesses the most devastating moment of his life in Andromeda, it will take the little moments of love between him and Esme to soothe his fears. It is the in-between moments that separate battles in the greater war that bring Reyes and Esme closer and closer.(Mostly canon-compliant with little divergences for more Reyes content) (REWRITE OF THE RYDER DEATH SCENE- SPOILERS)
Relationships: Female Ryder | Sara/Reyes Vidal
Series: The Andromeda Rewrites [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1434976
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	Esme vs The Archon

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr @queen-among-writers  
> Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Y9QFtVWHb0t6tjeCfkMLJ

Esme vs. the Archon

Standing on the bridge in the Pathfinder’s spot, Reyes Vidal understood why the job could appeal to Esme’s wild, wandering soul from the expansive view of stars stretched out before him. The Heleus Cluster was at her fingertips, and Esme was the kind of woman who could get anything she wanted. He glanced at Kallo and Suvi, as he learned their names were, but they seemed unfazed by his presence on the ship. Over the last couple of weeks, Reyes made it clear with his continued movements around the ship that he was staying and getting comfortable. Some of the crew were learning to adjust alright to having the Charlatan on board while others were less than thrilled. But, at the end of the day, the only opinion that mattered to Reyes was Esme’s.

Suvi and Kallo were managing communications with Esme, Cora, and Jaal on a dangerous mission to infiltrate and steal from the Archon, the Kett leader responsible for the Exaltation of the Angaran people. With his ties to Angaran Resistance, Reyes knew a decent amount on the war of the Kett. Of the current mission, he recalled it required a stealthy infiltration onto the mothership by Esme and her small team. Suvi and Kallo were monitoring the mission progress in real-time and Reyes, curious as to the operational affairs on the Tempest, decided to sit in on the mission.

**_“-Ryder, caution!”_** SAM warned, but the AI cut off and Esme’s pained gasp crackled over the comms, startling the adrenaline inside of Reyes. His eyes focused outside at the Kett mothership in the distance with a spike in concern.

_“Some kind of- immobilizing field.” Esme’s_ voice crackled through the sudden onset of static, and she seemed less afraid than downright pissed. The audio faded in and out between the crackles of the static white noise. In brief periods of clarity, the comms picked up on a dark and garbled voice that the crew recognized as the Archon. They only heard broken bits and pieces of what he was saying, but his tone indicated a taunt directed for the trapped Pathfinder and her crew. Esme, never one to take an insult lying down, clicked her tongue disapprovingly and mocked, “ _Am I, a nosy human, ruining all your grand plans, you ugly...”_

_“Hey, back off, asshole!”_ Cora’s distinctive growl pierced through the static, and those on the Tempest could only assume she was sneering at the Archon for getting too close to Esme. Reyes’ fingers twitched to where his blaster typically rested around his hip to remember that he was unarmed and stuck behind on the Tempest. 

“I can’t get it to clear up.” Suvi articulated to Kallo and Reyes, which caused some panic in Reyes. His eyes settled on the escape pods where Peebee resided, contemplating a return to his smuggler routes by hijacking one and flying it solo onto the Kett mothership.

_“Save your strength, human.”_ The Archon ominously warned Esme, and an alarm rang out in the background of the comm. The guttural growl of The Archon set the hair of those back on the Tempest on edge.

_“Raeka must have run into trouble,”_ Jaal commented and reminded everyone involved that there were others in need of rescue as well. The mission was quickly falling to shambles.

_“We have her beat. SAM, what can you tell me?”_ Esme questioned, pointedly focused on the pressing obstacle ahead of them—rescuing Raeka would come later.

**_“I’m sensing a biological transmitter in your bloodstream now. Attempting to neutralize it.”_** SAM informed, which caught Suvi’s attention. She would pass that information along to Lexi at once and request that a thorough examination and potential extraction of the transmitter be done.

_“Okay, that’s priority two for sure. Any ideas on how to break out of this?”_ Esme questioned, likely speaking to Cora, Jaal, and SAM.

**_“The containment fields only interact with living matter. If you expire, the field around you will extinguish until manually reset. As you know, my access to your physiology allows me to enhance your vital signals when required. I can also do the opposite.”_** SAM explained and Suvi, unable to help herself, gasped in horrified shock. There was no way that Ryder would go through with such a risky plan, even for Esme’s risk-taking personality. When the words clicked in Reyes’ mind, he nearly gagged at the suggestion and felt deeply unsettled. His mind, which was racing before, quieted while he waited for Esme to respond.

“SAM, please tell me you have something more than a half-cocked, risky suicide plan,” Esme remarked, sounding in control. But Reyes knew better. His memory flashed back to the cave on Kadara after his revelation that he was the Charlatan and how Esme’s voice—trying so hard to maintain bravado—was masking hurt and fear. She was afraid but would rather die than show it.

**_“After stopping your heart, I would attempt to resuscitate, of course,”_** SAM commented and somehow sounded sincere for an AI system. Reyes waited for the immediate protests to the idea, but there weren’t any, and his tongue stopped working when he needed it most.

_“Are there any other options?”_ Esme asked with a quiet tone that showed she already knew the answer would be a no. The tense silence transferred through the comm lines and stifled the bridge on the Tempest in dread. Reyes could see Esme’s face in his mind, her eyes swirling with mixed emotions but steeled in determination. Once Esme made up her mind, no force in the universe could go about changing her opinion. And Reyes? He already knew what she would say before the words left her lips, “Alright, let’s do it.”

**_“Stopping your heart now…”_** SAM declared, and the feed sharply cut out as Esme’s vitals flatlined. Reyes knew Suvi and Kallo were frantically talking and trying to re-establish the connection back to SAM, but the words coming out of their mouths were muted. His heart roared in his ears and he firmly gripped at the bridge, willing his legs to stay strong. He refused to believe that this was how it ended because that would never be how Esme would go. Esme Ryder, the girl who escaped death before, wouldn’t submit this time around and Reyes had to believe that. One minute passed, and every second threatened to crush Reyes underneath the weight of his fear. His knuckles paled from how tightly he gripped the railing. He wanted to scream or say something, but his tongue was as heavy as a block of lead, rendering him speechless. Another minute ticked by. He thought he was afraid as a kid alone on the streets of Chile or during pilot training… but that was nothing compared to how much he feared for Esme, the woman he loved.

Around the four-minute mark, through the emptiness of the comm, static erupted, and a gulping gasp followed right behind it. Esme’s vitals burst back to life and Reyes nearly collapsed from sheer relief. His heart threatened to burst straight out of his chest and he keeled over, trying to catch his wavering breathing. By no means was Reyes a religious man, but at that moment, he bowed his head and sent a silent thank you to whoever or whatever delivered Esme from death. It might’ve been God, SAM, or Esme’s determined tenacity to survive. 

“Let’s not do that again,” Esme coughed, her voice strained and weak, but a tiny inkling of teasing levity swirled around in there. There was Esme, sarcastic and bold. He noticed that Kallo and Suvi were sneaking glances at him, clearly expecting him to say something. Hearing Esme back online restored the rug back underneath his feet.

“Indeed Ryder,” Reyes interjected, making himself known. He didn’t know if Esme was aware of his presence on the bridge before, but she certainly was now. Esme knew that Reyes witnessed her die. The only thing he hoped was that she would understand how he would never want to see such a thing again. “You’re not allowed to have all the fun without me.” Reyes smoothly declared, but the joking tone he aimed for fell short with the waiver in his voice. He couldn’t hide his relief if he tried from the way it glowed in his eyes.

On the other side of the line, Esme can hear the nervousness that Reyes tried so desperately to hide and that makes her heart pound a little faster. She imagined his eyes in front of her and how much she desired to be in his arms, the beat of his heart promising to assure her that she was indeed alive.

“We’ll be back soon. We still have to escape this place.” Cora reminded, bringing the focus back onto the mission, and the trio continued their mission in the field. Even though Reyes knew Esme was safe, he still opted to wait on the bridge and listen to the sound of her continuing feed echoing back to him.

Once the Tempest crew had gotten wind of what occurred, they all awaited the return of the mission team to see Esme for their own two eyes. In front, Reyes waited and ignored the attempts of the others to push before him. The ramp lowered, and Reyes waited until he saw Esme helped up by Jaal and Cora with their bodies tucked underneath her arms and shoulders. Esme lifted her head up when trying to temper nausea filling her chest, and the sight of Reyes entering her line of vision quelled all the aching and pain. She broke free of Cora and Jaal’s arms and raced toward Reyes, ignoring her companion’s cries of concern. Reyes ran toward her, and the two met in the middle, his arms encircling around her. Esme buried her face in his chest and inhaled his scent, feeling tears spring in her eyes. Reyes presses his lips in her hair, and he felt his heartbeat accelerate now that he held Esme in his arms again after the whole ordeal.

“Mi alma,” Reyes whispered, and he felt Esme’s shoulders tremble, making him pull her even closer to him. They stood together and nothing else mattered to Esme. She died today, and the last thing she saw before succumbing to the blackness was Reyes’ face. She couldn’t look in his eyes because she remembered that he was there on the bridge, and she couldn’t hear how her lapse with death hurt him. “You can’t scare me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Esme apologized feebly to his half-hearted scolding, knowing she scared Reyes back when she heard his voice through the feed between the mission team and the Tempest. Reyes sighed, realizing he felt guilty, and the last thing he wanted to do was add extra stress on Esme after she fucking died.

“I know you were only doing what you had to. But I thought I lost you.” Reyes responded and he glanced over at the crew staring at him and Esme in awe. He understood their shock, after all. The story that the team likely saw was the passionate, fiery displays of intimacy that were showy but could fizzle out. They probably considered Reyes an object of Esme’s infatuation rather than affection, especially after the stunt they pulled during his first morning on the ship. They weren’t there during the tender moments when Reyes held Esme in bed or where the two shared secrets with the ease that they shared skin. Watching them with a keen eye, Jaal realized that Esme and Reyes were going to last.

“We must get you checked out, and then, I’ll bring you to bed,” Reyes instructed quietly, still holding her in his arms with a small part of him afraid she’ll disappear if he let go. He noticed Jaal and Suvi silently ushering the rest of the crew, except for Dr. T’Perro, out of the way to give Reyes some privacy. Dr. T’Perro silently watched on but averted her eyes in respect for their privacy; she should prepare the lab for some tests. Her footfalls fading away nudged Esme out of her reclusive state and showed the fear in her eyes, not wanting her crew to see that she was afraid of standing at the edge of the brink. Hell, she knowingly backflipped off the edge and was fucking lucky that SAM revived her.

“Stay with me?” Esme inquired while she clung to Reyes with all her strength, which was not much. Exhaustion long conquered her, but she saw no reason to share that with her already worried crew. However, one look into her eyes by Reyes, and Esme knew she would be exposed. He knew her better than anyone else on this ship.

“You never need to ask. I promised that I was here for the long haul.” Reyes whispered back to her, his lips brushing her ear while he lifted her up. Usually, Esme would protest to such a gesture… but today was one of the different circumstances. Nestled in Reyes’s arms, Esme knew she was safe.

The two walked down to the medical bay in silence, only interrupted by Reyes’ occasional affirmations to relax Esme. When reaching the med bay, Lexi observed the two of them as Reyes set Esme down on one of the examination pods.

“This should only take a moment,” Dr. T’Perro assured Esme, who clutched Reyes’ hand to anchor her to reality and remind her that she really did make it out of the Archon’s trap with her life. Esme closed her eyes and exhaled smoothly, letting Lexi examine her without much fuss. It was determined that, other than her racing heartrate, Esme sustained no major physical injuries or impairments from her daring risk with SAM cutting her life functions. With Lexi’s permission, Reyes escorted Esme back to her chambers—and by escorted, he carried her in his arms while her whole body wrapped around his torso. Her head rested against his shoulder and Reyes hardly minded her quietness; she survived something that would have stopped a lesser man. Reyes’ heavy footsteps were the only noise in the empty halls as he walked through the Tempest.

Reyes stood outside Esme’s Pathfinder quarters and the doors automatically opened, SAM programming him as the only person beside Esme who could override the controls to the room. He stepped across the threshold and when he arrived at the edge of the bed, Esme reluctantly released her hold and lowered herself back onto the ground. Her eyes were firmly fixed onto the floor and she made a move to lay down, but Reyes kept her in place.

“Esme, mi alma, we need to get you out of your armor.” Reyes gently reminded, his typically light and teasing tone taking on something protective. His disposition tended to play things cool and keep an impenetrable façade at all times, even with those he considered friends. But Esme was the exception to that rule. She tumbled into his life by a strange twist of fate and they ended up compromising each other without intending to. He walked to the edge of the bed and set her down, so she was sitting upright.

“I don’t know if- I’m not sure if I-” Esme abruptly cut herself off and clenched her jaw, seemingly frustrated with herself. She never needed anyone; that is the lesson she carried with her throughout her service in the Alliance military and considered herself independent. She never felt so helpless before and it was driving her insane. 

“I can do it. Don’t worry about anything; I will take care of you.” Reyes assured Esme and his certainty set her at some level of ease. She did her best to strip off her armor but kept spacing out midway through and drowned in her own thoughts. Reyes, clearly noticing this, started working Esme’s armor off piece by piece while keeping her anchored.

Once Esme was rid of her armor, Reyes gently coaxed her to bed and pulled her into his arms. Esme’s body sprawled out on top of him and she laid her head down on his chest. Esme closed her eyes, breathing in Reyes’ scent and using the consistent rhythm of his heartbeat to soothe her. Reyes’ hand brushed across the back of her head, stroking her hair. The two existed in the stillness for a minute; the stars swirling outside the Tempest in a mesmerizing manner that painted a peaceful scene despite the war with the Kett going on out of sight.

“Reyes, I am sorry-” Esme started and Reyes wondered what caused Esme to be so apologetic to him of all people. Such overwhelming guilt was out of character for the typically confident woman he knew. She took a risk that paid off, which meant there was nothing she needed to be sorry for. But then he remembered, buried in the half-asleep of their late-night talks when Esme cried to him about losing the people she loved most and watching them die. She spoke of her mother on her deathbed, but her estranged father too and his selfless act to save her instead. He understood what Esme was genuinely apologizing for: she was sorry for making him a witness to her death.

“Esme, I am glad you’re safe. Don’t apologize.” Reyes promised and Esme relaxed; his interruption of an apology unneeded easing her guilt. She was here, that was all that mattered. Esme yawned, and when Reyes resumed the stroking of her hair, she didn’t fight against the wave of sleep washing over her. Reyes noticed the evening out of her breath and tilted his head to catch a glimpse of her sleeping face.

A small chuckle escaped him as he stared at her fondly, admiring the soft part of her lips and the peaceful expression on her face. So rarely when she was awake did she seem at peace; it appeared that sleep changed that. Lying his head back, he sighed and decided to count his blessings. There were too many times he took things for granted since coming to Andromeda like his time on Earth taught him nothing. 

Esme was still there, and so was he.


End file.
